


Sine Qua Non

by Xyliandra



Series: Fame is a Blessing and a Burden [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, Idol!Nagisa, Idol!Nagisa AU, M/M, Manager!Rei, Olympian!Rin, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, rinreigisa anon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-01
Updated: 2014-10-01
Packaged: 2018-02-19 12:09:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2387789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xyliandra/pseuds/Xyliandra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>si·ne qua non</b><br/>ˌsini ˌkwä ˈnōn,ˌsini ˌkwä ˈnän/<br/><i>noun</i><br/>an essential condition; a thing that is absolutely necessary</p>
<p>Prompt: Rin is training for the olympics and Nagisa and his group are on a talk show. [The hosts] get Nagisa talking about how he misses his boyfriend but is [really] proud of him for working so hard. And it [turns] out Manager Rei, and the entire show, [brought] Rin to surprise Nagisa and make him cry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sine Qua Non

Nagisa was pressed close against Rin, essentially hugging Rin's arm as he chatted animatedly with the female host. Rin laced his fingers with Nagisa's. Rei was certain he was squeezing their secret love declaration- squeeze squeeze squeeeeeze.  _I love you~_. Nagisa insisted on them dragging out the last syllable. It was always hard to say no to Nagisa.

Rin chuckled as the male host asked him a question about keeping up with Nagisa's energy. Rei had trouble following the interview. A stage hand came looking for him anyway. The stage manager wanted to make sure everything was perfect. Rei smiled politely and followed the gentleman away from his lovers. It was getting hard to watch anyway.

In private, in their home, text messages and video chats, they were all on equal footing. They were equal partners. But everywhere else, Rin and Nagisa were a couple. Rei was just a friend and manager. It had to be this way. Rin and Nagisa were public figures. Nagisa accidentally gushed about his boyfriend's "super fast swimming times" and the press drew conclusions quickly. They weren't wrong exactly. Not exactly right either. But it was the perfect cover story for the triad to adopt. 

Rei tried his best to play his part as the best friend turned manager. He was careful at appearances and makes sure to never react to Nagisa’s affections. He responded to hugs, lack of personal space, blown kisses, and other physical interactions with reminders that such behavior is not suitable for a celebrity. The press thought it was cute that Nagisa is affectionate with everyone. They wrote about it a lot.   
The press thought it was romantic that two celebrities found true love before they made it big, and that despite the hectic lives and distance between them, they were still so in love and made their relationship work.   
The press thought it was sweet that Nagisa’s best friend stood by him, watching over Nagisa while his lover prepared for the Olympics.

They wrote about it a lot.

Rei tried not to be bitter, he truly did. Nagisa and Rin lived in the spot light. It was natural for their partnering to be the one put on display. The fallout from the press discovering there was a third would  _not_  be Beautiful. There would be rumors and exaggerated explanations. Undoubtedly, Rei would be to blame.

Rei was always in love with Nagisa. While Rin was away, Rei seduced the innocent Nagisa.

Or Rei seduced Rin while the swimmer visited his boyfriend on tour.

Or Rei used his power as manager to exploit Nagisa and forced him and his boyfriend to perform sexual favors.

Rei was quite certain he lacked any power of seduction in contrast to his partners, who could exude an aura of eroticism or sensuality at their whimsy. But that wouldn’t matter to the press. He would be the force of evil that destroyed the fairytale romance.

And Rei had to be okay with that.

Both Nagisa and Rin could be quite emotional, so it was Rei’s responsibility to stay strong for them. He needed to pretend like he was perfectly okay with this arrangement. He needed to pretend like it didn’t hurt every time his boyfriends were photographed together on red carpets while he stood just off camera. He needed to pretend like his heart wasn’t being ripped in half when he had to be left behind on publicity dates. Because why would Nagisa ruin his opportunity to spend time alone with his boyfriend by dragging along his manager? Rei needed to be good at pretending.

Nagisa and Rei hardly saw Rin, between their tour schedule and Rin’s training.

Rei spent even less time with Rin due to their situation. Rei saw Nagisa everyday but couldn’t be more than a friend for all but a few stolen moments on any given day. On tour, he had to have a separate room for propriety's sake. Both scenarios were torture.  
But he had to be strong.

Rei tried to ignore the nausea bubbling inside of him as the show hosts exclaimed that they had one more surprise in store for Nagisa. This all was to make them happy. Rei would give anything to keep them happy. He would drive them to the airport once the show wrapped up. He would see them off at the gate with a formal goodbye and handshake towards Rin and a hug he could not return from Nagisa. Rei would leave the airport and return to work, approving lyrics and scheduling appearances.

Rei inhaled deeply before taking his spot on stage. Rin looked just as surprised as Nagisa, and just as hopefully. Rei flashed a broad smile and announced the romantic vacation that his lovers would be taking. Without him.

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me, gush over mutual fandoms, and/or send me RinReiGisa prompts at [xyliandra.tumblr.com](http://www.xyliandra.tumblr.com). You can also check out my fiction account for just my fic related posts: [xyliandra-fics.tumblr.com](http://www.xyliandra-fics.tumblr.com)


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